Levante came agonisingly close to their third win of the season but were denied at the death by father and son duo Lewis and Liam Clarke who blocked out nine balls to give their team, Madrid CC, a losing draw.
Levante won the toss and elected to bat on an overcast day with rain in the air. Captain for the day, Tony Little was the first to go, falling to a sharp slip catch from Lewis Clarke and then fellow opener Ali Zaib fell soon afterwards.
A third wicket effort then ensued as Martin Taylor and Richard Harris went about re-addressing the balance for the home side. Both took advantage of a couple of dropped catches by the Madrid fielders to forge a century partnership. Taylor top scored with 73, whilst Harris was close behind with 69.
Levante just managed to secure their fifth batting point in the penultimate over and finally ended on 257 for 6. Madrid started their innings with light rain in the air and lost wickets at regular intervals. With runs on the board the Levante skipper Little kept his team in the inner ring circle, and invited the Madrid batsmen to hit over the top.
This they did with limited success as a couple of lofty blows, were invariably followed by a key wicket. Things looked to be heading to a tame draw until the eigth and nine wickets fell in the 38th and 39th over respectively. It was left to youngster Liam Clarke and his dad Lewis to see out three balls from Taylor and a final over from Harsha.
With all the fielders around the bat for the last six balls, Clarke Senior padded away and dead-batted the six balls left to deny Levante victory and send both teams off to the waiting paella in reflective moods. The teams meet again tommorrow at the VCG, knowing a likely victory for Pinatar Pirates at Almazora will give them the Division Two League title in their inaugural season.
Levante (17 points) drew with Madrid (8 points) VCG – September 12th 2015
Levante 257 for 6 (M Taylor 73, R Harris 69) Madrid 195 for 9.